Investing in technology to win over Generation Y

Millennials are the largest emerging market globally and the largest source of wealth ever. It is estimated that by 2018 they will have combined, projected annual earnings of $3.4tn and that by 2025 they will account for 75% of the workforce.

It is therefore time companies across all sectors paid attention to millennials and their values and reconsidered how they cater for this unique demographic.

Millennials use technology to shop, bank, communicate, arrange their social life, book holidays, apply for jobs (which is now increasingly happening on social media). The list could go on.

While they still value face to face interaction, they want to be able to use technology to make an initial request, to research and compare, to gather facts.

They like authenticity and immediacy and expect an individually tailored experience when it comes to customer service.

Retail is a sector that has heavily – and successfully - invested in technology to cater for this demographic. Yet, when it comes to other sectors, like for instance banking, it looks there is still a lot of work to do. Apparently, most millennials don’t seem to like traditional banking and would rather see a dentist than visit a branch!

Now is therefore the time for companies to develop a new strategy to cater for this unique generation and investment in the right technology should be part of the strategy.

The business of the future will have to be ‘millennial-ready’ if it wants to succeed.

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Brands better pay attention to millennials and their values. This generation is the largest group of consumers in the U.S., topping 75 million as of 2015 and wielding $170 billion per year in purchasing power. Central to millennials’ priorities are technology (especially if it’s mobile), online and offline social interaction, a life of adventure and social justice. They also highly value authenticity.
Millennials Love Technology
Because millennials have grown up with technology being a normal part of their lives, brands that sell computers, phones, and games tend to do well with them by default.